HOLIDAYS FOR WORKERS

Written:Written on May 20 (June 2), 1913Published:Published on May 31, 1913 inPravdaNo. 124.

      Printed from thePravdatext.

      Signed:N. N..Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1971,

      Moscow,Volume 36,

      pages247-248.Translated:Andrew RothsteinTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive.You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work, as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

Themetalworkers in Germany, as in other countries,
are in the van of class-conscious and organised proletarians.
They have raised the question, among other things, of
regularannual holidaysfor workers.

Themanufacturers resist this measure with all their
strength, pleading the “heavy burden” of the cost involved.
But the German metalworkers, in a special pamphlet
published by their union, have given exact figures to refute
these selfish and hypocritical evasions. The workers have
proved that between 1905 and 1910 the net profit in 93
joint-stock companies in the German metallurgical industry
averaged 13.4 per cent!

Itwould be sufficient to reduce this profit by no more
than 2 per cent to give all workers regular holidays.

Butat the present time the system of holidays is still
quite inadequately developed, and for the most part is
being applied by the capitalists to further indenture the
workers. The German metalworkers have taken two polls
on the question of holidays, in 1908 and 1912.

In1908, workers had holidays at 138 factories. Of the
75,591 workers engaged in these factories, 13,579, i.e.,
17.9 per cent, had holidays.

In1912, workers had holidays at 389 factories. Of the
233,927 workers employed there, 34,257, i.e., 14 per cent,
had holidays.

Inall, onlythreefactories in a thousand in the
metallurgical industry had a system of holidays! Of the total
number of metalworkers only 1.8 per cent, i.e., less thanone-fiftieth, had holidays.

Mostfactories allowing holidays—namely, more than
nine-tenths of them—grant holidays only to workers who
have been employed a fairly long time at the works. Of
the 389 factories (with 233,927 workers), 84 factories
employing 140,209 workers require a length of service fromfive to tenyears (!) before a worker gets the right to a
holiday.

Suchholidays are obviously a ridiculously small
improvement for the workers, and aremainlya bait to keep
the workers in the factory and a means of combating
strikes!

Inmost cases (for 72 per cent of the workers in the
factories mentioned) the length of the holiday does not
exceedone week. For 10 per cent, the period isless than a
week, and only for 16 per cent is itmore than a week(up
to two weeks).

Inmost factories allowing holidays (97 per cent),
workers going on holiday are paid their previous wages, or an
average weekly wage.

Wefind, therefore, that even in the leading industry
of an advanced country the system of holidays for workers
is disgracefully inadequate. But the workers are coining
to realise the need for regular and adequate rest and by
their insistence the organised workers will be able to achieve
success in this sphere too.